It’s great to be chosen as leader. There’s probably nothing more exciting than guiding your team through the thick and thins of a task. But as a cliché as it may sound, we know that power is always accompanied by responsibilities galore.
So, let’s find out what makes a great leader.
What Should You Be Worried About
Generally, when you work in a business, it’s idealistic to think that everyone will get along. So, you might face a little friction initially after getting chosen as the leader.
Moreover, as the chores pile up, the group members get more tense. This is the time when you need to take charge. Other than motivating your group members, you have to also divide tasks shrewdly.
Authenticity is key. Disrespecting other people shouldn’t be your intention, but you need to show that you are endowed with leadership qualities, and people need to abide by the rules you set forth.
Mistakes Made By Most Aspiring Leaders
It’s a well-known fact that history is one of the best teachers. So, learn from the failures of your predecessors. Here are some of the common blunders made by people trying to succeed in the lead role:
- Change is constant, so accept it: Sometimes they may be in conflict with your long term goals, but changes are inevitable. You need to go with the flow and not stick firmly to your initial target because the situation isn’t the same anymore. But, you may argue that in some cases, stubborn leaders have come out as winners since they did not conform to suit the circumstances. To judge which of the aforementioned choices would be apt for your team, you must have a group of trusted and experienced people. You can consult other executives and administrators at the business for some sage advice.
- Take charge and take the blame: When you don’t meet deadlines, and your objective seems far away, it’s mostly because you get busy with your daily tasks as an entrepreneur. A way to avoid such a situation is by setting a schedule on your calendar that you follow diligently. Another is by using features such as snooze on Gmail that’ll allow you to set up emails that will be delivered at a scheduled time. You should also be willing and ready to accept blame when plans you make or ideas you have don’t pan out the way you’d hoped. Like I said, authenticity is key, so taking charge and owning up to any mistakes — whether they’re yours or your team’s — is an important part of being a leader.
- Be curious about your mistakes: Ask yourself why you failed. If you don’t identify where you went wrong, you won’t be able to rectify it. Troubleshooting helps; it’s not always requisite of you to change the entire business model after one setback. The only real mistakes in life are the ones you don’t learn from.
- Don’t be too quick: Try to slow down your pace. It’s true that businesses need to be run quickly and time crunches aren’t a new issue plaguing startups, but you need to allot some time to look back on your decisions and analyze your future moves. Take the time necessary for self-reflection and be honest with your assessment of yourself and your performance.
- Performance over achievement: Don’t gloat about how much you’ve succeeded but rather think about your business’ performance. When achievements take the toll on you, shortcuts seem tempting that may clash with your long term goals.
So, there you go. Avoid these common erroneous methods, and you will come out the better in every sticky situation you may face as an entrepreneur. But, do you know what’s best? Trust in yourself, because no one knows your business better than you.
